A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 12 eBook

one word of all that he had said, endeavoured to convince
him, by all the signs he could devise, that we wished
to live in friendship with them, and were disposed
to shew them every mark of kindness in our power.
He then shook hands with him, and embraced him, giving
him at the same time several such trinkets as he thought
would be most acceptable. He contrived also to
make the old man understand that we wished to traffic
for provisions, that the Indians should not come down
in great numbers, and that they should keep on one
side of the river and we on the other. After this
the old man went away with great appearance of satisfaction,
and before noon a trade was established, which furnished
us with hogs, fowls, and fruit in great abundance,
so that all the ship’s company, whether sick
or well, had as much as they could use.

SECTION VI.

The Sick sent on Shore, and a regular Trade established
with the Natives; some Account of their Character
and Manners, of their Visits on board the Ship, and
a Variety of Incidents that happened during this Intercourse.

Matters being thus happily settled, I sent the surgeon,
with the second lieutenant, to examine the country,
and fix upon some place where the sick might take
up their residence on shore. When they returned,
they said, that with respect to health and convenience,
all the places they had seen upon the island seemed
to be equally proper; but that with respect to safety,
they could recommend none but the watering-place, as
they would be there under the protection of the ship
and the guard, and would easily be prevented from
straggling into the country, and brought off to their
meals. To the watering-place therefore I sent
them, with those that were employed in filling the
casks, and appointed the gunner to command the party
that was to be their guard. A tent was erected
for them as a shelter both from the sun and the rain,
and the surgeon was sent to superintend their conduct,
and give his advice if it should be wanted. It
happened that walking out with his gun, after he had
seen the sick properly disposed of in the tent, a
wild duck flew over his head, which he shot, and it
fell dead among some of the natives who were on the
other side of the river. This threw them into
a panic, and they all ran away; when they got to some
distance they stopped, and he made signs to them to
bring the duck over: This one of them at last
ventured to do, and, pale and trembling, laid it down
at his feet. Several other ducks happening at
the instant to fly over the spot where they were standing,
he fired again, and fortunately brought down three
more. This incident gave the natives such a dread
of a gun, that if a musket was pointed at a thousand
of them, they would all run away like a flock of sheep;
and probably the ease with which they were afterwards
kept at a distance, and their orderly behaviour in
their traffic, was in a great measure owing to their
having upon this occasion seen the instrument, of which
before they had only felt the effects.